Students at the Ariel University Center were unfazed on Thursday by
the decision of the Council for Higher Education’s Committee for
Planning and Finance not to grant Ariel the status of a university.

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Shai Shahaf, chairman of the Student Association at the Ariel
University Center, told Arutz Sheva that the issue will ultimately be
decided by the CHE in Judea and Samaria (Yehuda and Shomron), which
has already said Ariel has successfully met the requirements for
becoming a university.

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“We´re definitely not giving up, because we know we have the CHE in
Judea and Samaria,” said Shahaf. “The Committee for Planning and
Finance only gave its recommendation, but we are relying on the
Education Minister and on the Prime Minister to reach the right
decision.”

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Shahaf noted that there have been cases in the past where the
Committee for Planning and Finance gave a recommendation which did
not bind the CHE.

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“The Committee for Planning and Finance does not decide, it just
gives a recommendation, and there have been many times in the past
where the CHE did not consider the recommendation of the Committee
for Planning and Finance," he said. "We are convinced that the
Education Minister, who is a true friend of Ariel, will set the tone.”

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Education Minister Gideon Saar said Thursday that he will recommend
that the Ariel University Center be recognized as a university.

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“There will be struggles here, and I do not want to give precise
predictions about the time it will take for this process to be
completed, but in the end Ariel will be a university,” Saar said.

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Shahaf said that the Committee’s decision indicates certainly did not
surprise the students. "We knew it was coming, there was an
inadequate intervention here. We hope that the right decision will be
made on July 15, and until then we will do everything to influence
the decision makers.”